Kelly Clarkson Shames Beyonce at Inaugural by Singing Live (watch!)

Kelly Clarkson gave the performance of a lifetime at the inaugural swearing-in ceremonies of President Barack Obama and put R&B queen Beyonce, who sang after her, to shame. Kelly took a big risk and sang live, but Beyonce lip-synched her entire performance.

Clarkson, obviously caught up in the moment, soared as she sang “My Country, ‘Tis of Thee.” Despite chilly weather and a case of nerves, she was pitch perfect.

“Wow, I was incredibly nervous and cold ha!” she tweeted afterward. “I just wanna officially thank President Obama for opening for me haha! Just kidding.”

Clarkson drew widespread praise from television watchers.

Beyonce also gave what looked like a stirring performance. Both singers were accompanied by the Marine Corps Band.

But a spokesman for the band revealed afterward that Beyonce lip-synced to a pre-recorded version of national anthem. The band had to pretend it was playing in order to keep up her pretense of live singing.

Suspicions were also raised when members of the media noticed that the marine band wasn’t actually playing when Beyonce was singing.

Beyonce also added to the drama when she pulled out her earphone mid-way through the song. Musicians usually wear them so they can hear themselves sing over the music to avoid making mistakes.

In all likelihood, Beyonce was singing along to the recorded track and got confused when what she heard in her ear was not in-sync with the recorded track.

Apparently, inaugural performances are always pre-recorded just in case. But the artist has the ultimate call on whether they go live or lip-sync.

“The Star Spangled Banner” is a difficult song to sing, and a number of celebrities from Christina Aguilera to Scott McCreery, have flubbed the lines at lesser occasions.

Kelly deserves all the credit for this one. She won the first season of “American Idol” and has never wanted anything more than to be taken seriously as a singer. She earned new respect.

About The Author

TheImproper Staff

Keith Girard is Editor and Publisher of TheImproper, New York City’s cutting edge arts, entertainment pop culture and lifestyle Web magazine. Before that, he was editor-in-chief of Billboard magazine and a reporter for the Washington Post among other media positions.